


Under the Tree

by babycore



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eating Disorders, Fluff and Angst, High School, Kissing, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23689180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babycore/pseuds/babycore
Summary: Noctis, for some reason, just can't admit to himself that he's in love with Prompto.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> please note that prompto does have an eating disorder and it is mentioned in a paragraph, not in detail but also not incredibly vague either
> 
> also it doesn't mention it so i'm not tagging it but prompto is trans because i say so. if you wanna ignore that i guess you can but if you ignore it because you're a transphobe, fuck off. noctis and prompto would hate you
> 
> anyway! this takes place while they're in high school. also the end is a little sad but thats all! please enjoy!
> 
> oh yeah btw this isn't beta read bc i never beta read sorry lol

Having a crush on Prompto felt like no other crush Noctis had ever had.

Noctis had definitely had crushes before Prompto, even really big and intense ones. Crushes as small as having a tiny teacher crush on Gladio ranging to as massive as fantasizing about them quite often. But despite that, no matter how good these crushes made him feel, nothing felt good like crushing on Prompto did.

Prompto felt like home, like all of the things he was going to miss when he inevitably became king. He felt like warmth and smelled like innocence. He genuinely didn't think he could think of anything better than having Prompto curled up in his arms. Or how flustered his friend got when he compared his hair to a chocobo butt. And no pastry in the world was even close to as sweet as Prompto was when he was sleepy.

This was definitely more than a crush, but Noctis was terrified of admitting that to himself in fear of Prompto not feeling the same. He could never admit to himself that he was in love with Prompto. Even if the thought nagged at the back of his head, he couldn't say the exact words to himself.

But it never left his head, no matter how much he wanted it to. No matter what feelings he tried to repress, they were there. They were there, and he hated it. He was irrevocably in love with Prompto.

***

They had decided to eat lunch outside today. It was beautiful out, and Prompto insisted that it would be such a waste to eat inside, and Noctis agreed even though in actuality he couldn't care less. But there was no way he could say no to Prompto, not when he seemed so excited over the weather.

Prompto dragged Noctis over to a large tree, big enough to give them shade while they ate.

"What's the point of coming outside if we're just gonna sit in the shade?" Noctis teased.

Prompto huffed, sitting under the tree and opening his lunch. "You just don't get it, Noct, do you? It's still better than being cooped up inside."

Noctis shrugged, following suit in opening his bento box, groaning internally as he saw the vegetables Ignis had prepared for him.

"Hey, Prom. Want some of my lunch?"

Prompto lit up. He knew exactly what Noctis was trying to pull. He tried to push his veggies onto Prompto as often as possible, but he always let him. It was an excuse to get to have Ignis's cooking, after all.

"Sure!" Prompto chirped. "Do you wanna trade anything, or...?"

Noctis looked at Prompto's lunch, as if he was contemplating. He really wasn't, though; as good as Prompto's lunch looked, he knew that was probably all he was going to eat that day, and maybe it wasn't even going to be the whole lunch that he ate. Some days were better than others, but some days he didn't even bring lunch at all. Any amount he could get Prompto to eat was enough for him.

Finally, Noctis shook his head. "Nah. It looks good, but I'm all set. But if you're worried about seeming like you mooch off of me, you can let me feed it to you. Then we'll be even."

Prompto looked equal parts flustered and confused. "What? Dude, how is that any less mooching off of you?"

"Because I wanna feed you," Noctis said with a shrug. "So it's a fair trade. You want the veggies, I wanna feed you."

With an eye roll but no hesitation, Prompto opened his mouth with a little "ahh~"

Noctis fed him a mushroom from his box, and Prompto seemed to like it a lot.

"It's good!" Prompto hummed. "I love Ignis's cooking."

"What if I told you I made my veggies today?" Noctis asked.

Prompto looked amazed for a moment, but then a little scared. Noctis was a disaster with cooking, so how did the mushrooms taste so good? Were they going to kill him? 

"Did you...?"

Noctis laughed at Prompto's reaction. "Nope. But I wanted to see how you'd react if you thought I did. It was priceless."

"You scared me!" Prompto huffed, shoving Noctis's arm. "I thought you poisoned me!"

"Geez, Prom. What kind of friend do you take me for?" Noctis asked, feigning offense.

Prompto laughed and stuck his tongue out at Noctis, who stuck his tongue out back. They went back to eating their lunches, Noctis periodically putting his veggies on Prompto's bento box. Prompto never objected, gladly eating them. It was silent.

Noctis didn't really like the silence. Trying to make small talk, he asked, "Hey, Prom. You ever kiss anyone before?"

He instantly regretted it. Who asks about someone's love life unless they're trying to get in it?

Prompto blushed, and sounding slightly agitated, he mumbled, "Why would you rub it in my face like that?"

Noctis blinked. "What...?" He hadn't been trying to rub anything in anyone's face.

"I mean, y'know..." Prompto said, sitting up a little. "You're a prince. You could kiss whoever you want. You probably have kissed whoever you want."

Noctis wanted to laugh. If he had been able to kiss whoever he wanted, he'd have kissed Prompto a thousand times already, and a thousand more.

"No. I haven't had my first kiss either," Noctis admitted. It was embarrassing, but he'd rather feel embarrassed than make Prompto feel lesser.

Prompto was never lesser. Not lesser than him, not lesser than anyone.

Prompto did look pretty surprised, though, that Noctis hadn't kissed anyone yet. "Are you serious?"

"Why would I lie about that?" Noctis asked. "That's a really embarrassing thing to lie about."

"Wow..." Prompto mumbled in awe, amazed that Noctis really hadn't kissed anyone.

Another silence. Noctis hated it. An impulse crashed over him, the impulse to kiss Prompto, but he of course shoved it to the side and tried not to think about it. He tried to justify the thought by insisting in his head that people were curious all the time about how it felt to kiss their best friends. He wasn't in love with Prompto. Nope.

Nope.

But suddenly, he was torn out of his daze by Prompto asking, "Hey... are you listening? Did I weird you out...?"

Noctis shook his head. He hadn't heard a thing Prompto had said.

"Sorry... I guess I wasn't listening. I was thinking about stuff Ignis told me," he lied. "I'm sorry... What did you say?"

Prompto hesitated. He had lost the courage to repeat what he had said. "Um... nevermind, actually. It's fine."

"No, no," Noctis coaxed. "You can ask again. I'm sorry I didn't listen the first time."

"I..." Prompto looked away. "Asked if maybe you wanted to try kissing, like, not as a romantic thing, but like— I dunno— We've both never had our first kiss, and maybe we could use each other to, like, practice— Maybe it was stupi—"

"Hush," Noctis sighed. "Are you that desperate for your first kiss?"

Prompto blushed, nodding.

"But wouldn't you rather have your first kiss with someone you love?"

"There's no one in the world I love more than you, Noct," Prompto said softly.

Noctis couldn't help it; he blushed, and he blushed brightly. He couldn't tell if Prompto just loved him, or was in love with him. But he decided, maybe just once, he could kiss Prompto. Just to see how it felt. After all, Prompto had said it wouldn't be romantic...

Noctis cupped Prompto's cheek, turning his friend's head to face him. Prompto looked flustered as all hell, and it was adorable.

He gently pulled Prompto closer, until their lips met, and holy shit did it feel amazing. Noctis's body was warm, and Prompto's lips felt soft. It was sweet. It was good. It was nice. It felt like time stopped.

It really did feel like time stopped, because they were only kissing for a couple seconds, but it felt like forever.

Noctis's heart was racing when he pulled back. It felt... amazing. Kissing Prompto felt genuinely amazing.

"Noct...?" Prompto asked quietly, barely able to speak. "Can I tell you something?"

Noctis nodded. He himself was still too flustered from the kiss to speak.

"I... I think I like you, Noct... Like, romantically."

Everything stopped. Time, his heart, his thoughts, but this time, his body was flooded with anxiety, not warmth.

He loved Prompto too. Romantically. And even though Prompto had just confessed to him, he was still terrified to admit it to himself. But he knew there was no denying it anymore, and that scared him.

"I... I have to go," Noctis choked out. "I'm sorry, Prom."

Before Prompto could stop him, before he could even stop himself, Noctis got up and ran back into the school, leaving Prompto sitting under the tree; dazed, confused, and heartbroken.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis tries to make up for what he did, but he doesn’t know how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG much like noctis i am a dumbass and ive been working on this for almost 2 months and just now finished.... im so sorry!! i hope the conclusion makes up for my absence ;v;
> 
> anyway not beta read bc i never do

Noctis felt like the worst person in the whole goddamned world.

He had just gotten to kiss the love of his live, and said love of his life had even confessed to him that he liked him. Liked him romantically. Everything he wanted was right within his grasp, and he fucked it up by running off and probably ruining their whole friendship.

Things were tense. Prompto seemed... crushed. It was awful to see the most important person to him look so dejected, but it was even worse to know it was his own fault. It would have been one thing if he just hadn't reciprocated Prompto's feelings, but the issue was that he did. He did reciprocate the feelings. He reciprocated them massively. He felt so fucking stupid for what he had done. He wouldn't have blamed Prompto if he hated him now.

Except it didn't seem like Prompto hated him, which somehow felt so much worse. He almost wished Prompto was angry at him, because it hurt more to see him with teary eyes and a trembling lip. It really made him feel like the worst.

He couldn't stand the tension. He cracked by the end of the day. Part of him had been waiting for Prompto to come talk to him, but eventually he realized, why would he? Prompto had done absolutely nothing wrong. Noctis knew that it was on him to fix things. He hated admitting that he did something bad, but there was no way around it. He wanted his best friend back.

As his class was getting ready to go home at the end of the day, he approached Prompto's desk. It made his heart ache when his friend didn't react like he normally did, lighting up and striking up a conversation. Instead, Prompto sank deeper into his seat, trying to seem preoccupied by staring out the window. It hurt, and Noctis knew it was his own fault.

"Hey," Noctis said softly. He felt himself wilt a little when Prompto didn't even acknowledge his existence. “Can... can we talk?”

Prompto seemed like he wanted to be mad, but he sighed, nodding. He just seemed sad. “Yeah... Wanna walk me home?”

Noctis knew Ignis would be a little annoyed since he usually picked him up from school, but he just wanted to fix things between him and Prompto, and find out if it was too late to try being a thing.

“Yeah. Let me text Iggy and let him know he should pick me up at your place instead.”

Prompto nodded a little, just to let Noctis know he heard him, and stood up. It was pretty clear that he was still hurt, but there was a tiny glimmer of hope in his eyes. It was apparent that he had been just as afraid that Noctis hated him now as Noctis was afraid that he hated him now, which made Noctis feel even worse.

Noctis sent Ignis a quick text before pocketing his phone. There was silence as they exited the classroom, the hallways, the school. It was killing him.

“Prom,” he finally said as he left the school. “I’m sorry for running off on you earlier, at lunch.”

“It’s fine,” Prompto said with a shrug, though it very clearly was not fine. “I’m sorry for being so pouty and stupid about it.”

That stung. Not personally; Noctis didn’t feel personally hurt by any means. But it still made him feel like shit that Prompto felt like he was being the stupid one when Noctis was the one being stupid.

“Don’t say that. Running off after someone confesses their feelings to you, especially when you care about them is... kind of a dick move. I was being a dick.”

Prompto laughed sadly, shaking his head. “No, it’s not your fault. I was being weird and overstepped your boundaries, and I’m sorry. It was just a kiss.”

Noctis desperately wanted to tell Prompto that it wasn’t just a kiss, because it wasn’t, but the words just got caught in his throat. He resented himself for being so bad at talking about his emotions.

And it wasn’t like Prompto didn’t notice the tense silence, because be added, “It’s okay if we just forget about it and move on, okay?”

If Noctis could have, he would have said no. He would have told Prompto that he didn’t want to just forget about the kiss, that he loved him. That it terrified him to see the person he loved most wither away because of their mental health, that he wanted nothing more than to hold Prompto in his arms until everything felt better. He wanted to protect him, to be his shield, to never let anyone hurt him ever again, including himself.

But he physically could not say that. He couldn’t. So instead he just murmured, “Yeah, okay.”

Prompto only looked more disheartened, and Noctis wanted to punch himself.

***

The rest of the walk home was unsurprisingly tense. Noctis wished he could just stop hurting Prompto’s feelings and tell his friend how he really felt, but every time he tried to, the words just wouldn’t leave his throat. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t confess to Prompto; there was nothing stopping him now. He knew for a fact Prompto liked him. They had even already kissed. It’s not like there was a fear of rejection or anything. He had absolutely no idea why he was like this or what was stopping him.

Except, he actually kind of did. Part of it was that he loved Prompto so fucking much— so much that he was afraid of getting close enough go irreparably hurt his best friend. Being a prince, he knew he wouldn’t get to spend as much time with Prompto as he did now after he graduated high school. His father was lenient about his responsibilities now because he was still in school, but he knew it wouldn’t be like this forever. One day, he’d be king, and it wouldn’t be as easy as it was now, goofing off with the sweetest boy he had ever known and staying up until the crack of dawn playing video games with him. One day, he’d be king, and everything would change.

He was afraid this change would hurt Prompto. He was afraid that this change would change Prompto’s mind about wanting him.

The other part of it was that he just didn’t think he even deserved Prompto. He felt like Prompto deserved to be with someone at least a million times better than him, if not more. He may have been a prince, but that didn’t make him immune from questioning his value and worth as a person. What if all he had going for him was being a prince? He hated himself as a person, and hurting Prompto like he did earlier was just a reminder that he was going to keep hurting Prompto. He never wanted to hurt him ever again, but... if they got together, that would be inevitable.

He didn’t realize that he hadn’t said a word until they got to Prompto’s house, which made him feel more like a dick. Had he really not said a word the whole goddamned walk home? He was not helping the situation at all, was he? He needed to say something before-

“Hey,” Prompto said in a sigh, his voice sad. “Thanks for walking me home. Sorry it was so awkward...”

Fuck. Prompto had noticed the silence. Noctis knew he needed to fix this fast, but that’s why he had been silent in the first place; he had no idea how to fix it.

“No, Prom, please don’t apologize...” he insisted gently. He knew there were words that would fix everything, but he couldn’t say them. He was afraid. “I’ve been an asshole. I’m sorry. I was trying to think of what to say the whole walk home, and I just... I couldn’t.”

Prompto didn’t really seem to get it, a blank confusion in his eyes. “I... I don’t understand why you had to think about it, though. We... we agreed we would just forget about it and move on.”

God damn it. There it was again, Prompto just looking and sounding so sad like he was a puppy that Noctis had just kicked. It made him feel like shit, and he had nobody to blame but himself. “Prom...”

There was another tense silence, and it made Noctis want to pull his hair out. Why couldn’t he just do this right?

“Prompto,” he finally managed out. Maybe he could do this. Maybe. “I need to talk to you about earlier.”

“Why?” Prompto choked out. He both looked and sounded terrified. It was clear by the look in his eyes that he thought Noctis was going to say he didn’t want to be friends anymore. “You said we could move past it! Why—?”

Noctis grabbed the sleeves of Prompto’s shirt, his hands trembling. He felt a horrible lump of fear harden in his chest, but he tried to remind himself there was no need to be afraid. “I don’t want to move past it.”

The way Prompto’s eyes began to glaze with tears told Noctis that those hadn’t quite been the right words, so he forced out, “I just- I mean- Something happened between us earlier. I don’t want to ignore it.”

The fear in Prompto’s eyes was quickly replaced with confusion. He couldn’t quite tell what Noctis was trying to say, but he was starting to think maybe things weren’t as bad as he thought they were. “What...?”

“I’m sorry for being an idiot, Prom. I was an idiot,” Noctis told him, sliding his hands into Prompto’s. “I shouldn’t have ran from you. I shouldn’t have ran from my feelings. I’m a dumbass.”

“No!” Prompto quickly insisted, squeezing Noctis’s hands. “Please don’t say that about yourself... That’s not true.”

There was another long silence, which Noctis was starting to hate himself for. Although, this one felt less tense than the others had been and more contemplative. There was less fear.

“I don’t want things to be weird between us,” Noctis said, “but I don’t want things to go back to normal. I want a new normal.”

Prompto felt a smile tug at his lips, but he tried to keep a straight face. “What are you trying to say?”

Noctis laughed a little, feeling all of his anxiety ease. “Are you dense or just making me say it?”

“Maybe a bit of both,” Prompto replied teasingly. “But calling me dense would make you a hypocrite.”

“Not really. I own up to being dense.”

Noctis wanted to just be quiet and enjoy the moment, but he knew he couldn’t properly enjoy himself until he stopped bottling his true feelings.

“Prompto...” he said softly, almost afraid to raise his voice to anything louder than just above a whisper. “When you told me you had romantic feelings for me earlier... it scared me. Because I like you too. And that’s... scary for me, I guess. I don’t want to disappoint you or accidentally neglect you. Since one day I’ll be king—“

“You think I don’t already know that?” Prompto insisted, cutting Noctis off. “I already know that we won’t get to spend as much time together after high school as we do now. But I like you. I want to be with you, even if there’s no guarantee that it’ll be forever.”

Those words took Noctis by surprise. He knew Prompto had romantic feelings for him, but he didn’t fully understand to what extent. Though he almost felt stupid for being so surprised; the entire time they knew each other... no, the entire time Prompto knew him, even before they became friends, Prompto had been dedicated to him. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised that, after a lifetime of dedication, Prompto felt this strongly about him.

“I want to be with you too,” Noctis said, his mind and heart flurrying with emotions. “I want it to be forever... I’ll do my best to make sure it’s forever. So please... I’m sorry for being a dumbass.”

Prompto laughed a little, and Noctis swore his heart would melt- Prompto had the kind of smile that could bring sunshine to a dark room. He tugged his friend into a hug, relishing in the feeling of being hugged back.

“I’ll try to stop being so... obtuse,” Noctis promised quietly.

“Wow, big words. Do you even know what that means?” Prompto asked.

Noctis paused. “Only vaguely. Don’t call me out. That’s mean.”

Prompto, pressing his head against Noctis’s shoulder, only laughed again in response, and Noctis couldn’t even be mad, because he loved that laugh so much.

“Thank you for liking me,” Noctis finally said. “I... feel like you deserve the whole world. I promise I’ll try to give you that.”

Prompto blushed, glad his face was hidden in the hug. He managed out, “I don’t have much to offer... but I think I give good hugs.”

Noctis pulled him closer. “Hey. That’s enough for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed reading!! im sorry chapter 2 took a million years to come out but its up now!! i have more things planned, more with promptis as well as like. 4 danganronpa fics lol but thank you for bearing with me!!! 
> 
> also pls ignore the fact that the notes from last chapter r here too idk how to fix that

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! chapter 2 coming soon and i promise there's a happy ending


End file.
